The present invention relates generally to agricultural combines, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for automatically controlling the settings of an adjustable crop residue spreader of an agricultural combine that operates between a harvest mode and a headland mode.
Currently, agricultural harvesting machines such as agricultural combines typically include a spreader for propelling crop residue onto a harvested field, which will typically include stalks, leaves and cobs separated from corn or maize; straw and chaff separated from wheat and other grasses; and stalks, leaves and pods of legumes such as soybeans. In many instances it is desirable for the crop residue to be spread as evenly as possible over the width of the harvested swath, to avoid problems resulting from uneven spreading, such as, but not limited to, difficulty in passage of fall tillage tools through residue clumps or thick areas; uneven insulation of the field resulting in uneven field warming and thawing and weed or crop emergence during the following planting season; and increased rodent and insect habitat. Some spreaders can also have a capability for chopping the crop residue. Accordingly, the term chopper as used herein can refer to devices having a spreading capability, as well as those having both a spreading and a chopping capability.
It is known to provide apparatus, such as, but not limited to, spreader boards, distributors, and deflectors which are adjustable and/or movable and/or changeable and/or positionable, for variably or adjustably controlling and/or guiding airborne flight of the crop residue from the spreader for distribution over a field. It is also known to vary the rotational speed of impellers of a spreader, either alone or in association with other apparatus adjustments, for effecting changes in crop residue flight and distribution, for instance, to provide a distribution pattern having a particular sideward extent or width, typically closely equal to the width of a harvested swath of a field. More recently, it is known to provide a capability to control or adjust these parameters (such as speed and position) remotely, for instance, using an operator switch, such as a position control device 84, in the operator cab of the machine.
Combine headers having a width of 20 to 30 feet are currently well known, and headers having widths of 36 to 40 feet are also known. Such headers of different widths are commonly used interchangeably with a single combine. For instance, the owner or operator of a combine may have a grain header which is used for harvesting smaller grains such as wheat and soybeans, and a corn header for harvesting corn or maize. These headers can be of different widths, and thus will harvest correspondingly different width swaths of a field. The difference between the crops, and other conditions, e.g., moisture content and wind, will also effect different flight and/or distribution characteristics of the crop residue. As a result, the adjustable parameters of a spreader must be set for the header to be used, as well as for the crop to be harvested and the current conditions of the crop and other variables, such as weather.
A problem that has been encountered, however, is that crop spreading conditions can vary over the course of a harvesting operation. For instance, crop population can vary; and crop residue distribution and location can change as a result of winds, particularly cross-winds, changes in the direction of travel, varying contours of a field or obstacles therein that require following curved swaths, and turning, such as in the headlands of a field. Typically, when cross-wind conditions are present, the sideward alignment of a pattern of crop residue deposition will have to be adjusted from time to time, such as when a harvesting machine and or wind changes direction and/or speed. Current residue handling systems require the operator to manually activate a control in the combine cab to redirect the residue in the opposite direction when the combine turns around at the headland.
Thus, what is sought is an apparatus and method for automatically controlling the settings of an adjustable crop residue spreader of an agricultural combine to adjust to changing conditions and otherwise improve crop residue spreading and distribution, and which avoids one or more shortcomings and problems of the prior art devices.